Sankt Gallen Fruit Tart Ale is a 5% spice beer from Sankt Gallen, based in Atsugi, in Kanagawa, Japan. It’s part of their limited edition range and can be found in both bottles and on tap. Sankt Gallen Fruit Tart Ale is brewed using apples, cinnamon, ginger, and ichijuku, or Japanese figs. Why the last one is Japanese and not …

North Island Cinnamon Ale is a 6.5% spiced beer from North Island Beer, based in Hokkaido, Japan. It’s part of their winter seasonal lineup, and can be found in both bottles and on tap. North Island Cinnamon Ale is brewed using imported cinnamon but instead of East Kent Golding, Topaz hops are used in this 2018 version. North Island Cinnamon Ale …

Hansharo Ochaya-san’s Hōjicha Ale, besides being a mouthful to say, is a 5% speciality beer from Hansharo Beer, based in Shizuoka, Japan. It’s part of their limited edition lineup and was first released in 2018. Hansharo Ochaya-san’s Hōjicha Ale is brewed using hojicha, a kind of green tea that has been roasted instead of steamed, that was grown on the premises of …

Hideji Shi Shu 2018 is 5% fruit beer from Miyazaki Hideji Beer, based in Nobeoka, in Miyazaki, Japan. It’s part of their autumn season lineup and can be found in both bottles and on tap across Japan. This 2018 edition is brewed using ale malt, rather than the regular pilsner malt that is used, alongside the usual Aya Purple, a …

Echigo Always A White is a 5% wit from Echigo Beer, based in Niigata, Japan. It first came on sale in June 2018 and can be found in cans only at the time of writing. Not much is known about it – it’s so new that there is nothing on the Echigo Beer website about it. The only thing I …

Sankt Gallen Annin Chocolate Stout is a 6.5% spiced beer from Sankt Gallen, based in Kanagawa, Japan. It’s part of their 2018 Valentine’s effort and is brewed using 100kgs of fresh apricot kernels, known as “annin” in Japanese. Sometimes annin is also translated into English as “almond”. This beer is designed around annin dofu, a Chinese dessert made with annin and …

Baeren Pumpkin Wheat is a 5% spiced beer from Baeren, based in Morioka, Japan. It’s part of their annual autumnal release, with them producing a different pumpkin beer each year. Baeren Pumpkin Wheat with 3 Spices, to give it its proper name, is brewed using coriander, orange peel, and allspice, while the pumpkins, known as kabocha in Japanese, are locally sourced. …

Iwate Kura Pumpkin Ale is a 5% spiced beer from Iwate Kura, based in Iwate, Japan. It’s part of their Autumn seasonal lineup, and can be found in both bottles and on tap when on sale. Iwate Kura Pumpkin Ale was originally made using imported American pumpkins; however, since 2016, Iwate Kura have been using kabocha, which is often translated into …

Aoi Zen-Infused Ocha Ale is a 5% spiced beer from Aoi Brewing, based in Shizuoka, Japan. It started out life as part of their seasonal draft range but made it into bottles in later 2016 and is now considered part of their all-year round lineup. It’s brewed with Pilsner along with Munich Malt and hopped with Magnum, Tettnang, and Styrian Golding hops …